Protective cover for marine mooring bumper

ABSTRACT

A protective cover for a cylindrically-shaped marine mooring bumper, such as a scrap tire, includes a band having a pair of opposing edges, and a circular panel connected at or near its circumference to one of the edges of the band. At least one—and preferably both—of the band and the panel include a marine-grade material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/847,025, filed on May 17, 2004, of which this application is acontinuation-in-part.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to bumpers for marine craft mooringstructures, and more particularly to such bumpers that comprise scraptires.

2. Background of the Related Art

Disposed or scrap tires are used extensively as bumper guards (or simply“bumpers”) on or around marine craft mooring structures such as docks,decks, bulkheads, seawall retaining walls, and other similar man-madeand natural structures. “Marine,” as used herein, means of or relatingto a significant body of water such as an ocean, river, fjord, lake, orlagoon. FIG. 1 illustrates a typical marine dock D fitted with one ormore scrap tire bumpers B. When a marine craft (e.g., a boat or personalwatercraft) ties to such a dock, the craft will repeatedly strike orbump the tire bumper(s) B with varying degrees of force, depending onconditions such as the wind and tide. The potential therefore exists forthe exposed tire bumper(s) to create black contact or scuff marks on thesides of the marine craft, which are not easily removed. Further, suchcontact with the tire bumpers may mark, tear, smudge or remove decals,strips and stickers applied to the side of the marine craft. A needtherefore exists for a barrier—particularly a simple, inexpensive, andreplaceable barrier—that protects the sides of marine craft such asboats by preventing such undesirable contact between the tire bumpersidewall or tread and the marine craft.

Additionally, the tires that are so employed as marine bumpers aretypically quite worn and weathered, and are therefore unsightly. A needtherefore exists for a barrier solution that is aesthetically pleasing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The needs identified above, as well as other needs and problems in therelevant art, are addressed by the present invention. In one aspect, theinvention provides a protective cover for a cylindrically-shaped marinemooring bumper, such as a tire, secured to a marine dock or otherman-made or natural mooring structure. The protective cover includes aband having a pair of opposing edges, and a circular panel connected ator near its circumference to one of the edges of the band. “Edge(s)” isused broadly herein to mean lines or borders defining one or moreboundaries of an object, and does not necessarily imply precise orabrupt transitions at such boundaries. At least one of the band and thepanel include a marine-grade material.

In particular embodiments of the inventive cover, both the band and thepanel include a marine-grade material. In such embodiments, the band andthe panel may be integrally formed from a single piece of marine-gradematerial.

The marine-grade material may include a fabric that is resistant towater, mildew, mold, wear, rot, fade, stain, scuff, or a combinationthereof. Such fabric may be treated to provide the resistancecharacteristic(s).

In particular embodiments of the inventive cover, a releasable fasteneris carried at or near the other edge of the band. The releasablefastener may include a draw string, a narrow elastic band, VELCROfasteners, or other fastener means such as snaps or latches.

Additionally, the band may be equipped with one or more orifices thereinto permit water to drain therethrough.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a marine mooringbumper, including a cylindrically-shaped bumper for attaching to amarine mooring structure such as a dock, and a protective cover for thecylindrical bumper. The protective cover includes a band having a pairof opposing edges, and a circular panel connected at or near itscircumference to one of the edges of the band. At least one of the bandand the panel includes a marine-grade material. In particularembodiments of the inventive marine mooring bumper, the bumper includesa tire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the above recited features and advantages of the presentinvention can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to theembodiments thereof that are illustrated in the appended drawings. It isto be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typicalembodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be consideredlimiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equallyeffective embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical installation of a disposed or scrap tireused as a bumper for a marine dock.

FIG. 2A illustrates the dock tire bumper being fitted with a protectivecover in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a side view of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of the inventiveprotective cover.

FIG. 4 illustrates the components of the inventive protective coverbefore assembly, according to one embodiment thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate front and side views of a cylindrically-shapedmarine mooring bumper—more particularly a tire bumper B like that ofFIG. 1—fitted with a protective cover 10 in accordance with the presentinvention. With reference also to FIGS. 3-4, the protective cover 10includes a band 12 having a pair of opposing edges 12 a, 12 b, and acircular panel 14. The panel 14 is connected at or near itscircumference 14 c to one of the edges 12 a of the band 12, such as bysewing with a marine-grade thread, but other suitable connecting meanssuch as glue, buttons, zippers, or other fasteners may be similarlyemployed. Additionally, the band and circular panel may be connected bytheir common inclusion in a unitary structure, such as by making thecover using injection-molding, heat-molding, or similar processes. Itwill be therefore be appreciated that the band and the panel may beintegrally formed from a single piece of marine-grade material.

The band 12 has a width approximately equal to the width of a standardtire (e.g., 8-9 inches), while the panel 14 has a diameter approximatelyequal to the diameter of a standard tire (e.g., 24-26 inches). It willbe appreciated by those skilled in the art that the band and panel maybe sized differently, such as to fit varying tire widths and diameters.In fact, the band and panel may be constructed of elastic material(preferably having the marine-grade qualities described below), so as tobe adaptable to numerous tire widths and diameters. Thus, when the cover10 is fitted about a tire bumper B, the band 12 covers the tread portionof the tire bumper while the panel 14 covers sidewall portion of thetire bumper. Accordingly, the cover 10 serves as a protective barrierthat prevents the tire bumper from directly contacting a water crafttied to a mooring structure such as a marine dock D.

It will be further appreciated that a protective cover 10 may be usedsingularly or in combination with other such covers to achieve anesthetically appealing physical appearance, or at least upgrade theappearance of, mooring structures such as docks that employ scrap tiresas bumpers. For this purpose, the protective covers 10 can be designedto match the colors of a commonly-docked marine craft or nearby home,such as by dyeing, etc. Additionally, the panel 14 of inventive cover 10can be used to exhibit decorative indicia or other markings, designs,etc., through processes such as silk-screening, embossing, engraving,embroidering, or stitching.

The band may be equipped with one or more grommet-reinforced orifices 18therein to permit water to drain therethrough, as shown in FIG. 3.Additionally, the band may be discontinuous so as to leave a gap Gbetween ends 12 c, 12 d, thereby facilitating the expansion of theband's edge 12 b for easy fitting of the cover 10 about a tire bumper B(shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3).

At least one of the band 12 and the panel 14, and preferably both,include a marine-grade material. The marine-grade material may include afabric that is resistant to water, mildew, mold, wear, rot, fade, stain,and scuff or a combination thereof, so as to provide durability andruggedness for the protective cover 10 in its intended marineenvironment. Suitable examples of marine-grade fabrics (includingthread, yarn, etc.) include canvas, nylon, vinyl, acrylic, and othernatural and man-made fabrics that exhibit these qualities. Such fabricmay be treated to provide or enhance the resistance characteristic(s).Some suitable treatment examples include fluorocarbon-based fabrictreatments, UV-stabilizing pigment treatments, and temperature/abrasionresistance treatments. Suitable marine-grade fabrics (at least some ofwhich are treated fabrics) are presently commercially available underthe following brand names: COASTGUARD, FLORIDIAN, GORE-TEXHERCULITE/AQUUATEX II, ISLANDER, NAUTOLEX, OUTDURA, PHIFERTEX, SEAMARK,STAMOID, SUN DUCK, SUNBRELLA, SURELAST, TEXTILENE, TOPGUN, AND WEBLON.

A releasable fastener may be carried at or near the other edge 12 b ofthe band 12. The edge 12 b may be formed as a hollow sleeve or hem 20through which the releasable fastener is inserted for moving the ends 12c, 12 d together, thereby closing the gap G and helping to secure thecover 10 about a tire bumper B. Grommets (not shown) may be used toreinforce the hem 20. The releasable fastener may include, e.g., a drawstring 16 or a narrow elastic band, and may also utilize VELCROfasteners or other suitable fastener means such as snaps, latches,hooks, zippers, and buttons. In the case of a draw string 16, a clasp 17may be employed for securing end portions of the draw string 16 outsidethe hem 20, thereby ensuring a snug fit of the cover 10 about a tirebumper B and preventing the cover 10 from being inadvertently removedfrom the tire bumper 10. FIG. 4 illustrates the panel 14, band 12, anddraw string 16 as separate components before they are assembled to formthe illustrated embodiment of the protective cover 10.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that variousmodifications and changes may be made in the preferred and alternativeembodiments of the present invention without departing from its truespirit.

This description is intended for purposes of illustration only andshould not be construed in a limiting sense. The scope of this inventionshould be determined only by the language of the claims that follow. Theterm “comprising” within the claims is intended to mean “including atleast” such that the recited listing of elements in a claim are an openset or group. Similarly, the terms “containing,” having,” and“including” are all intended to mean an open set or group of elements.“A,” “an” and other singular terms are intended to include the pluralforms thereof unless specifically excluded.

1. A protective cover for a cylindrically-shaped marine bumper,comprising: a band having a pair of opposing edges; and a circular panelconnected at or near its circumference to one of the edges of the band;at least one of the band and the panel comprising a marine-gradematerial.
 2. The protective cover of claim 1, wherein both the band andthe panel comprise a marine-grade material.
 3. The protective cover ofclaim 1, wherein the marine-grade material comprises a fabric that iswater resistant.
 4. The protective cover of claim 3, wherein the fabricis treated to provide the water resistance.
 5. The protective cover ofclaim 1 wherein the marine-grade material comprises a fabric that ismildew resistant.
 6. The protective cover of claim 5, wherein the fabricis treated to provide the mildew resistance.
 7. The protective cover ofclaim 1 wherein the marine-grade material comprises a fabric that isfade resistant.
 8. The protective cover of claim 7, wherein the fabricis treated to provide the fade resistance.
 9. The protective cover ofclaim 1 wherein the marine-grade material comprises a fabric that iswear resistant.
 10. The protective cover of claim 9, wherein the fabricis treated to provide the wear resistance.
 11. The protective cover ofclaim 1, further comprising a releasable fastener carried at or near theother edge of the band.
 12. The protective cover of claim 11, whereinthe releasable fastener comprises a draw string.
 13. The protectivecover of claim 11, wherein the releasable fastener comprises a narrowelastic band.
 14. The protective cover of claim 1, wherein thereleasable fastener comprises VELCRO fasteners.
 15. The protective coverof claim 1, wherein the band is equipped with one or more orificestherein to permit water to drain therethrough.
 16. The protective coverof claim 1, wherein the band and the panel are integrally formed from asingle piece of marine-grade material.
 17. A marine mooring bumpercomprising: a cylindrically-shaped bumper for attaching to a marinemooring structure; and a protective cover for the cylindrical bumper,the protective cover comprising: a band having a pair of opposing edges;and a circular panel connected at or near its circumference to one ofthe edges of the band; at least one of the band and the panel comprisinga marine-grade material.
 18. The marine mooring bumper of claim 17,wherein the bumper comprises a tire.
 19. The marine mooring bumper ofclaim 17, wherein the marine-grade material comprises a fabric that isresistant to water, mildew, mold, wear, rot, fade, stain, scuff, or acombination thereof.
 20. The marine mooring bumper of claim 19, whereinthe fabric is treated to provide its resistance to water, mildew, mold,wear, rot, fade, stain, scuff, or a combination thereof.